Two of the three people charged in connection with the 2009 stabbing deaths of Karitha Carroll and her 3-year-old daughter, Jamiah, appeared in court Tuesday, Sharkey County authorities said.

One of the suspects, Shawn Waller, told 16 WAPT's Erin Kelly as he walked into court that he didn't do it. Jamiah's grandmother, Barbara Sanders, said Waller knew the family. She asked him "Why?" as he walked by her.

Waller, of Cary, arrived in Sharkey County Tuesday afternoon. He was transported from Issaquena County, said Sharkey County Sheriff Lindsay Adams.

When Waller appeared in court, he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.

One of the two women charged in the case, Stephanie Ann Smith, was transported Tuesday to Rolling Fork from Rankin County, the sheriff said.

Smith, of Jackson, and Waller are each charged with two counts of murder. Bond was set at $1 million for both Smith and Waller. Each count had a bond of $500,000, court officials said.

As she left court on Tuesday, Smith denied she had anything to do with the killings.

Adams said the third suspect in the case, Josephine Warren, will have an initial appearance in court at a later time. Warren, 31, is being held in Mississippi Department of Corrections custody in Rankin County on a burglary conviction out of Sharkey County, authorities said.

"I hope these are the right people they have this time, so we can have some closure in our family," said Lubertha Sanders, a relative of the victims.

A relative found the bodies of Carroll and her daughter inside a home on Highway 61 in Cary on Sept. 23, 2009, authorities said.

The Sharkey County coroner said Carroll, 31, had been stabbed multiple times in the chest and Jamiah had several slash wounds and her throat had been cut.